Seven things you can actually do about it
A follow-up to The gap we're not talking about, yet.
Last week I wrote about a gap coming in five to ten years: technology and AI taking over junior work, fewer juniors getting hired, and fewer experienced people coming through as a result. The responses didn't surprise me but got me thinking more.
I'm someone who believes action beats more talking. So here's what I think a business or organisation can actually start doing, without waiting for "the system" to catch up.
You don't need to do all of them; one is better than none. Start small.
Build in one junior role, even part-time. Don't wait until you feel "ready"; that moment rarely arrives on its own.
Give a mentor real space and time, not just a title. Protect an hour a week in someone's calendar. Without protected time, mentoring becomes the thing that gets skipped when things get busy.
Give them a safety net to learn and fail safely. Ring-fence the work so mistakes are part of learning, not a risk to the business or their confidence. That's what makes the early reps count.
Partner with an existing scheme rather than building from scratch. Summer of Tech, Propel People - Workbridge, Apprenticeship Boost and industry training organisations for trades, R&D Experience Grants for R&D work. This is not an exhaustive list by any means.
Redesign junior work for how work's actually changing. If AI's doing more of the grunt work, build junior roles around checking and directing that output. Still real training, just a different shape.
Share the load. Share a mentor or an intern with another organisation or take it further and coordinate through your industry body for a shared pool across several businesses. Split the time, split the cost, everyone benefits.
Pay them properly. This isn't free labour; it's a real role doing real work. If the budget's not there to pay someone fairly, that's worth sitting with before taking someone on at all.
None of this is easy. But the alternative isn't pretty either: a generation with fewer runs on the board and businesses with no one ready to step up when it matters.
Be realistic about it too. Most businesses and organisations are running lean, and commercial pressure is real. Start small, one role, one mentor, one hour a week, rather than waiting until you can do it properly.
We can't fix the systemic stuff on our own. But we can start from the ground up.
Don't wait for someone else to do it or for tomorrow. Someone else and tomorrow have a habit of never arriving.
Photo by Nicholas Safran